Bamboo Socks? They’re Snapz

“My mom assigned me the weekly chore of folding clothes but I hate sorting socks,” says Jacob. “They all look the same and it takes too long to sort through. Is the sock black or blue? Striped or solid? And when I talked to my friends and their parents, nobody likes sorting and folding socks.”

Snapz USA was founded by 14-year old Jacob Dietle of Pasadena, California. By conducting research into the best means to keep a pair of socks together in the wash and dry cycles of laundry, Jacob did what any enterprising 14-year old would do, he created Snapz socks.

Through his research and with guidance from an experienced group of advisors, Jacob developed a viscose bamboo sock composition that wicks away moisture and odor, keeping feet dry. (Text in italics from official press release.)

“I wanted to find a way that would make socks perform well but have environmental benefits, too. I learned bamboo has anti-odor properties and that viscose bamboo when made from hard bamboo stalks creates a cozy fiber that is soft and warm, yet helps wick away moisture, keeping your feet dry—that means less of an odor.”

Bamboo viscose

“What’s also great about bamboo…is that…viscose bamboo has a soft, buttery feel and can absorb up to three to four times the moisture as cotton.…What truly makes bamboo amazing is how ecologically friendly it is to our planet. For example, bamboo requires no irrigation to grow because it thrives under natural rainfall. It requires no chemicals, pesticides, or fertilizer to grow because it naturally fights pests and it is great in different natural settings, growing up to 47 inches in one day. A stand of bamboo creates thirty-five percent more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees, while absorbing five times the amount of greenhouse gases.” (Direct quotes from Jacob’s Indiegogo campaign.)

He researched and tested available snap options to find a solution that would hold up to repeated wear and cleaning, ultimately choosing the American company ,YKK, to provide the snap enclosures for Snapz socks. Socks were wash-tested and dried hundreds of times to find the best combination of materials and snaps, resulting in a comfortable, premium line of dress socks with athletic socks to be introduced Spring 2014.

“With Snapz you simply take your socks off, snap them together, wash and dry, and just like snapping your fingers, they’re already sorted and ready to toss in the drawer. The best part? No more missing socks,” says Jacob.

Jacob has created the “Buy 3, Donate 1″ program where for every 3-pack of Snapz sold, a pair of socks will be donated to a child. He is also planning to donate five percent of his profits to Amati Foundation in order that the organization may continue to purchase quality musical instruments for children who cannot afford their own. “By supporting them, we can help thousands of kids gain access to music education which has proven to help with cognitive ability.”

Snapz USA, inventor of Snapz™ socks, launched a crowdsourcing campaign on Indiegogo to raise $64,000 to begin mass production for a December 2013 product launch at the famous Beverly Hills retailer, Fred Segal and to promote its new “Wear, Snap, Wash, Dry, Toss™” line of snap together hosiery. The campaign can be found at igg.me/at/snapzsocks.